Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovic could not hide their delight as they were given the day off from sharing analyst duties with USA legend Alexi Lalas.
After a number of awkward moments between the trio in the early days of the World Cup, Lalas traveled to Seattle for the USMNT’s second group game against Australia on Friday afternoon.
Lalas was joined by anchor Rob Stone and fellow US soccer legends Clint Dempsey and Carli Lloyd outside Lumen Field, while thousands of fans gathered around the set before kickoff.
That left Henry and Ibrahimovic in the regular Fox studio in Los Angeles with anchor Rebecca Lowe.
And when Lowe announced that Lalas ‘has left us,’ Zlatan quickly replied: ‘America, you’re welcome.’
That moment set social media ablaze and fans watching on from home claimed the pair looked overjoyed to be without Lalas.
Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovic looked delighted to be working without Alexi Lalas
Instead of being in the studio, Lalas traveled to Seattle to watch the USMNT play Australia
One commented: ‘Zlatan looks like a giddy child not having to sit next to Lalas today.’
Another posted: ‘Henry and Zlatan celebrating Alexi Lalas not being there lmaoooo’
A third replied: ‘Zlatan could not look happier that Lalas isn’t there with them’.
‘Zlatan and Henry already taking shots at Lalas,’ another quipped.
Another fan replied: ‘It’s been one week and Thierry and Zlatan have already kicked Lalas off the panel.’
Before the Fox broadcast went live on Friday, Henry and Ibrahimovic posted a montage of them doing some outrageous skills in the studio.
The pair, two of the greatest forwards in the history of the game, showed they’ve still got as they performed a number of tricks and flicks.
But the very first clip in the video showed Henry teasing Lalas towards the ball before he quickly whipped it away from the helpless American in what was a cheeky dig at him.
Fans quickly flooded the comments to point out the difference in skill between the trio, with one asking: ‘Lalas didn’t fancy getting involved, no?’
Another commented: ‘Alexi Lalas will pull a hamstring if he tries to join in’ with a laughing emoji.
‘Alexi Lalas watching like he’s about to slide tackle the ball into the cameraman,’ a third replied.
Henry and Ibrahimovic posted a clip of themselves doing insane tricks, including one on Lalas
It has been a fiery start to the 2026 World Cup for Fox’s analyst team, and tempers frayed live on air on Tuesday when Landon Donovan labeled the French team ‘arrogant’ and ‘casual’ during a below-par first-half performance.
Back in the studio at half-time, Henry hit back, telling Donovan: ‘I just don’t get it. So because you’re not 1-0 or 2-0 or 3-0 up after 15 minutes, those words have to come out?’
He then appeared to take a dig at Donovan’s lack of knowledge about the impressive Senegal team, adding: ‘We all knew that was going to happen. If people don’t know how Senegal can play, that’s on them.’
At full-time, after France had enjoyed a much stronger second half to win 3-1, Ibrahimovic got involved in the debate, spurred on by comments from Lalas.
The American reignited the ‘arrogant’ France debate by saying: ‘We had that nice little fun back-and-forth between Landon and Thierry about whether the French were arrogant in the first half. We can have that discussion, but the reality is that if they are arrogant, it’s because they can do things like that…’
Zlatan then jumped in, creating a toe-curling moment of awkwardness live on air, when he stated: ‘It’s not arrogance, it’s confidence. Ignorant people will say it’s arrogance, intelligent people will say it’s confidence.’
As Henry looked straight down the camera with a stunned facial expression, Lowe jumped in to get the broadcast back on track.
The superstar Fox panel have repeatedly aimed jabs at each other through the tournament
‘Okay, good to know,’ she said, before laughing and steering the conversation to a more friendly place.
It was not the first time the Americans clashed with their European colleagues, either. On the first couple of days of the tournament last week, there were multiple flashpoints that hinted at some tension in the ranks.
One such moment occurred when the panel were discussing Erling Haaland, and Lalas made the bold decision to claim that a good tournament for the Norwegian would see him surpass Ibrahimovic in the record books.
‘I love you Z, but I will take Haaland over you if he has a big World Cup,’ Lalas told Ibrahimovic. Suffice to say, the Sweden icon disagreed, and immediately hit back to present his own argument.
